Rolla Community Matters January 2022

Mary’s Musings

Rolla Presbyterian Manor

By Mary Bridges, chaplain JANUARY 2022

Rolla-area senior artist finds community, inspiration in unusual medium “One of the premises that has governed all my striving is a deep appreciation for beauty,” said Sophia deLaat, whose Art Is Ageless® entries have delighted Rolla Presbyterian Manor residents for the past six years.

Sophia finds beauty in an unusual medium: gourds. She turns these ancient vegetables into bowls, figurines, music boxes and lamps by carving intricate designs in their flesh.

“Each gourd has its own personality,” said Sophia, who will celebrate her 74th birthday this spring. “They are living things.”

You can’t impose your own ideas onto the gourd like you might make a painting by copying a photograph. She had a couple of different ideas for “Ave Maria,” which won first place in Rolla’s 2021 Art Is Ageless competition.

Eventually, the right design revealed itself. A photograph of the intricate music box appears in the 2022 Art Is Ageless calendar.

Another award winner, “Cardinal Direction” will be featured on one of the calendar’s pull-out postcards.

Sophia has been working with gourds since she discovered the art

Sculptures

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Editor’s Note: In a nod to our Presbyterian heritage, we are featuring a column from a PMMA® chaplain regularly in our newsletter. This month’s featured column comes from Mary Bridges, chaplain at Salina Presbyterian Manor.

There is nothing permanent except change.

— Heraclitus When I ponder the meaning of life, I always conclude that life is another word for change.

As my mother grew older, we often debated about change. She would tell me it was hard. I would respond with my belief that when we initiate a change it is much easier to accept than when we have to change due to circumstances beyond our control.

What’s real is that change is constant. With every ending, there is a beginning. God is with us not only in our beginnings and in our endings but in every moment in-between. The church recognizes this by calling God and Jesus the Alpha and the Omega.

“Cardinal Direction” won first place in the mixed media/crafts (professional) category in the 2021 Art Is Ageless competition at Rolla Presbyterian Manor. It is featured on a pull-out postcard in the 2022 Art Is Ageless calendar.

If we were to draw a straight line with the Alpha at one end and the Omega at the other, we could use it to represent the events of our

Change – continued on page 3

Get the latest on visitation and COVID-19 at our campus at RollaPresbyterianManor.org/covid-19.

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Activities director supports the spiritual health of residents with music, prayer Spiritual wellness is woven into the fabric of the life enrichment department at Rolla Presbyterian Manor. However, spiritual activities have looked a little different over the past couple of years.

“With COVID-19 hindering outside visitors, I had to get creative on different ways to provide spiritual health for our residents,” said Noah Rhoades, life enrichment director.

Fortunately, there are a wealth of spiritual resources online. Noah often turns to YouTube to select content he thinks will speak to the residents.

Once a week, Noah hosts a 45-minute spiritual activity, often right before the ice cream social on Tuesdays.

“I try my best to make it as close to what a real church service would look like without actually having a minister or clergy present,” he said.

He finds YouTube videos of gospel hymns and selects three or four to start the “service.” They include classics such as “Eastern Gate,” “Just a Little Talk with Jesus,” “I Saw the Light,” and “Great Is Your Faithfulness.” Often, the music portion ends with a favorite hymn, “How Great Thou Art.” The music is followed by a recording of a sermon by the televangelist Billy Graham, and the activity always ends with a prayer.

“I will usually hear several residents, even hours later singing or humming along to the songs we sang to praise the Lord,” Noah said.

“This activity probably has the most lasting impression on them and has become of my favorite activities as well.”

Another favorite is the hourlong hymn praise program held every other week. It’s similar to the Tuesday activity in that Noah selects videos to play from classic gospel artists such as the Gaither Vocal Band and the Easter Family.

“I grew up in a very musical area and have been blessed to learn and grow from watching very close friends and family members who have been in gospel quartets,” he said. “I try to feature a couple of people that I know personally who perform in groups such as the Harper Family, Crimson Gold, the Lesters and the Kingsmen.”

One of Noah’s relatives, Garry Sheppard, was a member of the latter quartet.

One activity the pandemic has not interrupted is the morning devotional in the health care neighborhood. After the exercise class, a staff member reads a passage from “Our Daily Bread.”

Staff member Mark Bruner reads a devotional from “Our Daily Bread” after the morning exercise class in our health care neighborhood.

He is looking forward to having volunteers help with Bible study and other ministries again soon.

“One very faithful and well-spoken pastor that we are very excited to have back is our former chaplain, Allen Teal,” Noah said.

“While I am not an ordained minister, I, too, am very devout in my faith in Christ and love to converse with the residents about their walk with Jesus,” he said. “Some of my favorite moments at the Manor are the times I get to have prayer with them. To me, developing a spiritual connection with someone is un-paralleled to any type of superficial bond you can have. It’s comforting to work at a place where this is encouraged.” u

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Community Matters 573-364-7336 ◆ Fax: 573-364-7495 1200 Homelife Plaza Rolla, MO 65401-2595 RollaPresbyterianManor.org

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | January 2022

is published monthly for residents and friends of Rolla Presbyterian Manor

by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

To submit or suggest articles: lfreeland@PMMA.org Ann Caudill, executive director Joelle Freeland, marketing director

OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

Sculptures – continued from page 1 form about 10 years ago. She is a member of the Show-Me Gourd Society, the Missouri chapter of the American Gourd Society. They hold regular shows that include educational opportunities and exhibitions. At her first show, Sophia purchased a bushel gourd plant that yielded beautiful, enormous gourds that she has used in multiple pieces.

Part of the joy of gourd art is the “amazingly supportive” community, she said.

Sophia uses a Dremel rotary tool to carve each gourd, then she applies a base coat of pastel ground. She uses colored pencils to bring the intricate design of each gourd to life. As a final touch, she often embellishes her gourds with inlaid Swarovski crystals.

A photograph of “Ave Maria” is featured as part of the month of June in the 2022 Art Is Ageless calendar. It won first place in the sculpture/3D (professional) category in the 2021 local competition.

Her work was included in “The Missouri 50” at the state fair this year.

Missouri artists may submit two pieces for the competition, and both of Sophia’s were selected for the exclusive exhibition. She also exhibited two pieces in the 2019 iteration of the statewide arts showcase as well. Sophia has also won prizes at Gourd Society shows across the country.

Sophia will exhibit her work in February in the gallery at The Centre in Rolla alongside three other artists.

She took a break from making work because of a cancer diagnosis, so she has been busy getting ready for the group exhibition. She also posts images of her work on her Facebook page.

Rolla Presbyterian Manor remains one of her favorite places to show her work.

“I’m just so honored to be a part of Art Is Ageless,” Sophia said. “It’s a beautiful way of letting us older folks indulge our love of art.” u

Change – continued from page 1 lives. If we take this timeline and form it into a circle, rather than being at opposite ends, the Alpha and Omega are side by side. The end is now the beginning, and the beginning is now the end. It becomes the circle of life.

In a circle, there is no beginning or ending. These overlapping symbols of the Alpha and the Omega can be seen as a sign of God’s presence among us.

Beginnings and endings are always happening. As one

moment ends and another begins, we can know that God is there. God is at both in the beginning and the ending of our personal “circles of life,” and that is what really matters.

Each new year is like starting a new chapter in our lives. My prayer for each of us is simple: “May the words of Advent follow us into 2022, as we live as a people who are guided by hope, peace, joy and love in this year and forever more.” AMEN. u

God is at both in the beginning and the ending of our personal “circles of life,” the Alpha and the Omega.

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | January 2022